Phoenix Traits
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Harry Potter notices a series of small fountains in the Hogwarts lake wondering where they come from. Just a pointless, sweet drabble, completely AU, set after Hogwarts, HP/HG


**Phoenix Traits**  
**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Harry Potter was lying on the sofa in his living room, feeling not only completely annoyed at his wife and his colleagues, but also totally bored. It was a grey, snowy day in November, with dark clouds hanging low in the sky. Together with his wife Hermione, he was living in their own teachers' quarters at Hogwarts. While Hermione was the Charms professor and Ravenclaw head, Harry taught Transfiguration and was the head of Gryffindor house now in the third year.

In fact, he loved to teach, however, Madam Pomfrey had confined him to bed for a whole week after realising that he was suffering from the Grindylow pox. _'I'm more suffering from not being allowed to teach than from the pox,'_ Harry thought in annoyance. At first, he had tried to hide his hoarse voice and hot skin along with the small, green pustules from his wife with concealment charms, however, Hermione was much too clever to not notice that he was ill. In spite of all of his begging, she had called the healer, who seemed to take special pleasure in tormenting him by confining him to his quarters and asking the headmistress to take over his classes for the whole week.

_'They have given the preventive potion to everyone anyway, so I could as well teach the students,'_ Harry thought, grimly. He slowly stood up, holding on to the sideboard for an instant to fight a bout of dizziness, before he made his way to the window that allowed the view onto the Quidditch pitch and the lake. Harry loved the view from the window. However, something was strange today.

It was at the far edge of the lake that the water suddenly began to splash. A small amount of water but still large enough for him to see it shot upwards only to calm down when the next part of the water shot upwards. It was like a series of small fountains that continued to one part of the lake where it stopped.

_'What was that?'_ Harry wondered in confusion. _'I've never seen such a thing.'_ He pondered if he should go and check the lake, however, he dismissed the thought, having to admit to himself that he felt too dizzy this morning to gallivant the grounds like his Slytherin colleague would say. All of a sudden, the series of small fountains came back to where it had come from and stopped near the edge of the lake, and Harry had the impression as if he could see a small flash. _'As if there was a Snitch,'_ he thought in surprise.

He walked back to the sofa and lay down again, however, the thought of the strange little fountains refused to leave him in peace. _'I wonder what it is,'_ he thought over and over. Several times, he stepped to the window, however, he did not see the spectacle again.

HP

Harry sighed in relief, when he heard Hermione enter their quarters. "Thank Merlin you're back. It was so boring here alone the whole day," he complained, reaching for his wife's hand.

Hermione cast him a concerned look and sat on the edge of the sofa placing a cold hand on his forehead. "You're not much better yet dear. Just try to sleep. That'll help," she replied in a soft voice.

"I'm fine," Harry contradicted in an upset voice. "I wouldn't have any problem teaching my classes. Oh by the way, today I saw something really strange," he suddenly remembered and told his wife about the fountains.

"Fountains? Are you sure?" Hermione asked, sceptically. "I've never seen such a thing."

"Nor have I, but it was there," Harry insisted.

HP

During the following days, Harry observed the same spectacle a few times. It always began at the same spot and ended at the same place only to return a few minutes later. One day, Harry felt a little better and decided to go out onto the grounds thirty minutes before the small fountains used to appear. Covered by his invisibility cloak, he made his way out into the snow and went up and down the path next to the lake, almost regretting that he had left the agreeable air of their quarters in favour of the icy cold winter air outside. If he had expected to see much more than from inside the castle, he was sadly mistaken - at first.

Something crashed into the water with a splash, before the small fountains commenced to appear. _'It's not fountains, it's as if something was in the water pushing away the water into the air,'_ he thought in confusion. When the series of small fountains came back, he leaned far enough over the edge of the lake to get a close look at the spot, where the spectacle used to begin and end.

With excitement, he observed how a tiny red head appeared out of the water, and before the thing that the small head belonged to could move away, he called out, "Fawkes!"

An instant later, the phoenix was sitting on his arm with his beak full of water worms.

#Wait for me. I'll be back in a minute,# Fawkes trilled, before he flashed away in a small flash of flames only to reappear an instant later.

"Hello Fawkes, how nice to see you after so many years," Harry greeted the bird. "What are you doing here?"

#My wife and I have our babies here in the forest because of the water worms from the lake here,# Fawkes explained. #They're said to be the best water worms for phoenix babies world-wide.#

"So it was you who caused the small fountains," Harry replied in understanding.

#Yes, since I'm a fire phoenix, I'm water repellent,# Fawkes admitted, smirking.

"Is it warm enough in the forest though? Why don't you keep your babies inside the castle?" Harry queried in surprise.

#Because I'm not bonded to anyone, and Minnie know-it-all would surely throw me out if she saw me,# Fawkes admitted. #She doesn't like me because I pranked her so often.#

Harry couldn't help chuckling. "Why don't you bond to someone then? Everyone would be honoured to have you as his or her familiar."

#You too nestling?# Fawkes enquired.

"Of course me too," Harry replied in a firm voice.

#Then I'll bond to you,# Fawkes decided. #Do you think your wife would mind if my wife bonded to her?#

"I don't think Hermione will mind. She'll be very happy, especially since she's a bird Animagus as well and would be able to communicate with your wife," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "Why don't you just come to our quarters tonight and ask her?"

Fawkes agreed, and Harry felt the phoenix's magic, as Fawkes bonded to him. Suddenly, he felt much better and warmer. "Thank you Fawkes. I'll see you tonight," he said and returned to their quarters.

HP

Later in the evening, Fawkes and his wife Elma flashed right into Hermione's and Harry's quarters together with two phoenix babies that were spiking just a few red feathers. Hermione was very happy to have a complete phoenix family in their quarters and immediately called one of the house-elves who were looking after the teachers and instructed her to equip the living room with an extra large perch, where the phoenixes could raise their babies.

HP

"The baby phoenixes," Harry said, dreamily, when he climbed into bed later the same evening. "They're so cute."

"They're still mostly naked and have to be kept warm," Hermione said in a soft voice, adding, "What would you think of a human baby?"

"Of course," Harry replied with a combination of excitement and surprise. "Are you ready for it though?"

"Yes my dear," she replied and lay down next to him, pulling him into a long kiss.

"All right then," Harry said, when they finally pulled away. "Let's see what's cuter then, the phoenix babies or ours."

"Our babies will be the cutest, that's for sure," Hermione stated, nestling deep into his robes.

HP

When the twins Lily and Albus were born nine months later, the phoenixes had babies again. However, the mermaids provided the house-elves with a sufficient amount of water worms to feed their babies, and no one ever saw a series of small fountains caused by a fire phoenix underwater anymore.

**The End**


End file.
